20 Chapter 20 - Siblings In Sewage

[200 years later. After the event which was called 'The Red Sky Sonata'.]

*Crack* Some pebbles fall onto the head of a young man, waking him from slumber. He was sleeping on his working table, along with his tools and diagrams. He is exhausted from working overtime in order to meet up the deadline of his orders. His errands keep growing and growing, and he thought that soon, he will need to call it off and take a little breather.

He was about to leave the table to fetch a drink when he noticed that there was already a glass full of water beside him. ‘It must be Ana, truly a sweet soul she is’, he thought to himself, thinking about his beloved little sister.

The siblings live under a city, along with those who have been cast aside by the world, losers and unwanted. Even though they basically live in Tel' Almus, the capital city of the Queendom of Elgram which is currently led by Queen Helen II.

Under the current queen’s crown, the kingdom experienced rapid growth and increased prosperity. But of course, such a thing has nothing to do with people like them.

After having his rest, he stopped by his sister, checking whether she's okay. The place where her sister sleeps and where he works is separated by several walls so that he won’t disturb her with the noise he makes.

" Ana... This would be over and we will live sufficiently like we used to be. I promise. " He talked to himself while rubbing his sister’s tangled brown hair.

Ana, the little sister, sleeps soundly even with nothing but her brother's clothes as her bed. The bundle of clothes which she used as a mat was all that they have. And the older brother doesn't mind to always spend the night without anything but a piece of thin cloth to cover his groins. He only needs his clothes in the daytime after all.

" Yo, Zio! Can never stray too far from your sister, aren't cha? ", someone called the young man from his back. It was his partner, a red-haired girl, an immigrant from Nierland.

Seeing her sister was slightly disturbed by the sudden noise, Zio immediately shushes the girl with glares and a clench of fist.

The girl closed her mouth before grinning, telling Zio that it was unintended. Then, Zio fixed Ana’s 'blanket' so she didn't catch a cold before leaving her by herself and heads towards his working space, along with his partner.

" Do you ever get cold dressing like that? "

" I suppose you have something to tell me other than my attire, Bella? "

Zio calls out to the red-haired girl who is currently pouting. He couldn’t care less about anything he deemed unimportant, such as his health, or anything alike. Because, with his sister’s deteriorating health, all that matters to him right now is to find a way to get out of here as quickly as possible.

" Ana is getting worse, right? " With a sad tone, Bella looked at Zio like she was truly concerned. But the man knows that it wasn't the case, so he chooses to keep silent instead.

" No, Bella. I already have plenty of items to work on. Keep bringing them, and I'll lose my weekend with Ana. ".

Zio knows that she only wanted to lure him to do more of her bidding. While, he is actually fine with that, but he has to take Ana on a walk every weekend to maintain her health. Therefore, anymore job than he already has will surely result in contradiction with his reason to work.

" Aw come on, we can't miss this one! It's a real bounty this time"

" You also said the very same thing before, when we work on the cashless old man's walking stick. telling me that it was an heirloom of a noble family. "

" W-Well that was...! Uh, oh... c-charity is sometimes necessary you know! Making sure that we are always under the grace of the Goddess! ", Bella looked away and playing with her finger, while thinking of a way with words. But ended up bumbling and stuttering like an idiot instead.

" If the goddess does exist, then we won't be here living with feces and rats. Now stop bugging me and let me work. ", Zio brushed her off and started to get his hands back to his hammer and anvil.

But suddenly Bella pulled his hand, trying to buy him with fake tears.

" Let go of me! "

" No, Zio! Please! You don't understand! It's for real this time!"

" Don't say I didn't warn you! ", Zio pushed her away until she almost fell into the ditch and continue to focus on his work. Yet, again she forcefully grabs his leg and clinging to it.

" Please, please, just this time...! Or maybe you want me to please this big and strong boy down here, eh~? "

Bella’s fingers playfully climbed to the nether part of Zio’s body. Like any hungry woman who didn’t hesitate to do anything in order to lay their hand on whatever they want. Sadly, Zio is immune to such temptation.

Zio grabbed her hair and throw her away like trash, as he really has no time to waste for any of her whims.

" It was a big one, Zio! The biggest one we can ever pull off! I swear upon my father and mother, we can even instantly get out from here with this one. " Bella pulled her trump card, to make a success of her last chance.

The trump card seems to be successful as Zio finally stopped his hammer. Because Bella really is a handful partner for him, but she never said anything alike, not even once. Hence, he thinks that if what she was saying is true, then it might finally be his ticket to get out of the city sewer.

" Tsk, fine. Tell me what you found. "

Bella's eyes spark with enthusiasm as soon as she heard those words. " Ah, finally! I know you're the best! " catching Zio off guard, she cheerfully rubs her cheek with his. Until he pushed her away and lean his back on the wall.

" So? "

" Right, so a few days ago I heard that an auction will be held at the Ilsburn district two days from now... and you know what? big names will be coming over! Kamille, Aimar, Gilford, literally everyone! "

" Then, forget it. We shouldn't mess with something like that. ", Zio feels that the idea already sounds so bad. Basically, he believes that anything which involves the nobles is always a bad idea. No matter how much is the reward, the risk is simply too high.

"Of course, you stupid! That's where my job takes the stage! " She puffed out her chest, boasting herself, although Zio wholeheartedly knows that nothing of her can be boasted other than her abnormal-sized racks. But in the end, he has decided to hear her out after all.

" Actually, there's one artifact. One merchandise that is being transported in a different cart than the others. "

" And you're telling me this is our jackpot? "

" The legendary sword of the great hero Artelia in flesh! or maybe, uhm... in steel... "

Now it does sounds interesting for Zio, as it's clearly not his everyday stuff to toy with. He would love to get his hands on such a precious artifact. But even so, he still had his doubts.

" Are you sure about this? What if we're not the only ones who go for it? " Zio asked her once more.

" Of course, I even spread the news."

" What?! " Zio is shocked, he even thought that he has misheard what she said. It’s common sense to think that nobody in their right mind would give out their card to their competitors. But that’s not the case with Bella. She is just simply unpredictable.

" That's why it's gonna be a party! We'll sneak up amidst the chaos and slip away with the prize! The greatest heist of the century! "

" You're goddamn crazy. "

" Thank you for your kind praise! " Smiling proudly, the girl is truly too much to handle for Zio. All might sound good. But in the end, it will be him who will clean up her mess, just like always.

Yet, one thing that makes him worried is no other than Ana. As a heist of this scale will surely require time to prepare and even longer time to clean up its aftermath, He will need someone he trusts to look after her. Yet, again, he barely knows anyone aside from Bella.

" Hee... You must be thinking about your cute little sister, right? Don't worry I got it covered! Steve will... "

*Slap* Zio’s hand flew to Bella’s face faster than an equestrian horse galloping towards the finish line.

" T-That hurts! " Bella held her redden cheek in teary eyes.

" Your fault. You should've known I'll never let any boy get near my precious little Ana. "

" Who said that Steve was a boy, duh?! "

" He wasn't? "

" 'He' is a she! Her name is Stefany! Steve is just a pseudonym! Like yours and mine! "

‘Great, she should've told me earlier’, Zio thought as he feels a little bad for Bella. The man knew that the girl must've wanted something from him as her 'token of apology'. Hence, he needs to bend this off the way she wanted it to be.

" Well, anyway... how can I trust her? "

" Hmph! Well, I trust her enough to even share the same pillow. " Bella answered as she pouts and grumpily looked the other way.

Slowly but surely, Zio started to trust Bella a little bit more. Because someone as careful as her who dwells in smuggling and other shady deals shall never lower her guard unless she was absolutely certain that she is safe.

" Alright then, you can send the detail of the plan later. Now I need to get this done... Let's meet again when the preparation is complete. "

" 'Let's meet again when the preparation is complete'. " Bella talked back in a mocking tone.

" Huft... fine. What do you want? Surely sorry won't be enough... "

" I think you know what I want... "

Bella gets her face closer to Zio, staring at his eyes as if she wanted to devour him. Her fingers start to exploring around his body, trying to get me into the mood. Then, she begins to undress herself, untying the string of her leather-striped coat.

" Stop. ", Zio holds her arms firmly, trying to stop her from doing whatever she intended to do any further.

" I'll do whatever you want after the auction, but not now. I have something to tend to. "

After hearing Zio’s pleading, Bella pouts again a little before kissing him in the cheek. Zio couldn’t believe how careless she is as a woman could be. If he was a man like another, she might have got raped already.

" Well then, that was a down payment. "

" Tsk. You're too much to handle. "

Finally, Bella excuse herself, and Zio can finally get back to his work. After some time working, Zio took a look at the stream of the sewage water and the blooms of the Midnight Lily that he brought from the surface.

“ Three o’clock huh? ”

Zio needs to finish his work fast and get enough time to rest. Because he knows, anything can happen with someone as screwed in the head as Bella.